Mill_Creek_A_to_Z_Amend05.pdf

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION / MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

005 6/11/2013

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

USDA Forest Service Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest 215 Melody Lane Wenatchee, WA 98801

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State, and ZIP Code) ( ) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

AG-05G1-S-13-9001

X 9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

04/12/2013

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE FACILITY CODE

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

X The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers X is extended, is not ex-tended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning 01 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

( ) A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN

THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor X is not, is required to sign this document and return 1 copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible)

This amendment is issued to make the following corrections and provide information on upcoming pre-proposal conference:

A. Block 9 - Due date for proposals is extended to 4:30 pm on July 1, 2013.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

BY

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 30-105 STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

PREVIOUS EDITION UNUSABLE Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

SF-30 (continued)

B. Change wording Under Schedule B.1, Line Item 2 - Option Items:

From:

OPTION ITEMS TO BE PERFORMED BASED ON NEPA RESULTS

This is just a sample of work activities since we will not know what work will be performed until the Forest

Service selects the preferred alternative (Line Item No. 1).

To:

OPTION ITEMS TO BE PERFORMED BASED ON NEPA RESULTS

This is just a sample of work activities since we will not know what work will be performed until there is a

NEPA decision (Line Item No. 1).

C. Add B.4 AGAR 452.216-73 MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNTS (FEB 1988) to

Section B.

D. Replace I.7 with 52.217-7 Option for Increased Quantity—Separately Priced Line Item (Mar 1989)

The Government may require the delivery of the numbered line item, identified in the Schedule as an option item, in the quantity and at the price stated in the Schedule. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by issuing a task order at any time during the ordering period. Delivery of added items shall continue at the same rate that like items are called for under the contract, unless the parties otherwise agree.

E. Add M.4 AGAR 452.216-72 EVALUATION QUANTITIES--INDEFINITE-DELIVERY

CONTRACT (FEB 1988) to Section M.

F. Change to Appendix A, paragraph 6.0, Summary of Tasks and Technical Specifications, #13 to read as follows:

6.0 SUMMARY OF TASKS AND TECHNICAL SPECIFIICATIONS

13. Analysis of the comments received during the comment period: The Third Party Contractor shall compile and analyze comments received on the draft EIS/EA/CE released for a 30-day CE/EA comment period or 45-

Day comment period for an EIS (36 CFR 215 or 36 CFR 218). The Forest Service will review the list of substantive comments prior to the Third Party Contractor initiating responses. Upon completion of analysis, review and comment, the Forest Service may provide review and feedback prior to signing off on their completion. After review by the Forest Service, the comment letters will be scanned and, along with the

Third Party Contractor's responses (after Forest Service approval), will become an appendix to the decision document. All public comments received shall become part of the project record. If comments on the draft

EIS/EA/CE are extensive and require substantial changes to the draft EIS/EA/CE, the Forest Service may require a supplement draft EIS/EA/CE be prepared and sent out for another 30 or 45-Day Comment Period prior to preparing the final EIS/EA/CE.

ADD: For EA/CEs the Third Part Contractor shall consider all substantive written and oral comments submitted. All written and oral comments received for the EA/CE will be placed in the project file and become a matter of public record.

G. Change to Appendix A, paragraph 7.0, Documentation, #1 to read as follows:

7.0 DOCUMENTATION

1. Documents produced by the Third Party Contractor shall be submitted to the Forest Service in

Microsoft Word format, using a minimum of 11-point, serif fonts (such as New Times Roman, Book

Antigua, or Garamond). Maps within the documents shall be placed into a PDF, bitmap or jpg format.

The Third Party Contractor is encouraged to e-mail draft and final documents in order to expedite Forest

Service reviews. Edits to Microsoft Word documents, where possible, will be made using the "track changes" feature of Microsoft Word. Documents shall be ADA compliant ADD: meet requirements of

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

H. Following questions and Answers are from the May 30 Pre-proposal conference:

Mill Creek A to Z Stewardship Pre-proposal Meeting Questions:

Morning Pro-proposal Conference Call:

Section C

Q1: I haven’t seen anything that says that says that this data will be used only for this project. Is that the case?

Who decides what data is necessary?

A1: The contractor shall collect data adequate to support the NEPA decision. At present, there’s no plans to use this data for anything outside the A to Z project although once generated, all project records will remain official

Government property to be turned over to the FS upon completion of this contract as per Appendix A- Section

4.1 and 4.2. The Forest Supervisor and COR will decide what data is necessary for this project.

Q2: In C.5 does that mean 3 days per month per specialist?

A2: Yes.

Section G:

Q3: Who is responsible for determining the size of the payment units under resulting contracts?

A3: Presale forester in conjunction with the contractor who is putting the packages together.

Q4: Do excess work activities need to follow the guidelines for Stewardship?

A4: The excess work activities, as described in the stewardship law, are “…to achieve land management goals for the national forests and the public lands that meet local and rural community needs.” Forest Service national office has created a stewardship handbook to provide the policy and direction in the use of stewardship authorities. Region 6 has developed a user guide to assist forests in developing and implementing stewardship projects. The user guide is available online to the contractor.

Q5: Does the Forest Service plan on spending all the stewardship dollars on the A to Z project? Or is the forest going to bank some of the receipts? The expectation of the coalition is that receipts would need to go through the collaborative.

A5: Because NEPA is not complete, the Government can’t determine what the timber value or service work will

be. The timber value may exceed the value of the service work and if so, it is possible there will be retained receipts at closure.

Q6: Normally when the Forest Service assigns stewardship tasks they try to spend all the stewardship money.

Is that true here too? The contractor may not want to over subscribe to service tasks. The coalition may want the money to go to other projects. Goal is to make it break even, but that never really happens.

A6: What comes out of the NEPA process will determine where treatments will occur. We are looking to do work on the ground within the project area and then any excess receipts would go to the forest for other projects. Coalition wants to be involved in getting needed projects done, not just work within the area. The premise under this contract is to have the timber value pay for all of the work in the project area. Any retained receipts at the end could be used on other approved stewardship project areas.

Section K:

Q7: How would the NEPA contractor be viewed? Under Section C.2 about the relationship. Does the sub have to have all the same certifications and representations as the Prime Contractor?

A7: The company performing the work (whether prime contractor or subcontractor) will need the necessary certifications and registrations as required by the contract for that specific work activity.

Q8: How do we fix Surprises? Example, cadastral surveys have not been completed, how would this be handled?

A8: There are clauses in the contract that can be used to fix surprises, such as the changes clause, differing site conditions, etc. The example given regarding cadastral surveys would not be considered a surprise since it is clearly listed in the Pre-Treatment Services, Line Item Nos. 2(D) Property Line Establishment and (E) Property

Line Maintenance.

Q9: Can the forest provide a map of up to date landline surveys?

A9: Appendix A –Section 4.1 (pg 9 of 24): ‘The COR is responsible for: b) Providing the Third Party

Contractor with any existing data for the project.’

Section M:

Q10: I appreciate the 3 days per month to assist contractor. In previous projects it has been difficult to get the info from the FS’s files. Some is in old desk folders, not electronic. It would be most efficient if the contractor chose to find a recent retiree who could find the data easily. Would that be OK? FS should pay for that person.

This would be a logical request. People who support this project don’t want to slow down the FS from their other work. Enterprise team won’t help.

A10: The Forest Service does not anticipate hiring a retired FS employee.

Appendix A:

Q11: Who is the responsible official?

A11: Forest Supervisor is the deciding official and the District Ranger could be delegated authority further.

Q12: Who responds to the FOIA requests?

A12: Authority for responding to FOIAs cannot be delegated below Forest Supervisor authority. Since the contractor will have the record, they would provide documents from the project record that the FS would then review for responsiveness and whether the documents are releasable under FOIA. The FS would process the

FOIA response letter. There could be other documents not associated directly with the NEPA process for this project that the FS would need to provide for the response.

Q13: Is the IDT all Forest Service?

A13: Yes. The internal IDT is all Forest Service employees.

Q14: What are the appropriate documents for supporting specialist reports?

A14: Any reference materials that were used would be required documents.

Q15: Clarification on NEPA document types? This section talks about the NEPA process for individual decision documents. Who deals with the objection process? Do excess work activities need to follow the guidelines for Stewardship?

A15: If the contractor uses an EA or EIS then the objection process is used. If a CE, is used then it is subject to appeal.

Q16: What would be the contractor’s responsibility if an objection or appeal would occur and would the contractor be compensated if needed beyond what is in the actual order?

A16: The contractor is responsible for services up to delivery of final project record. Additional input from the contractor after the decision document(s) is signed would include clarification of project record content.

The project record should support the decision. Contractor would be required to meet Appendix A - section 6.0

Summary of Tasks and Technical Specifications (Project Record: The project record shall include all field data, project documents and reports and references). There are finite timeframes associated with the appeals and objection processes.

Since the objection period is part of analysis period (decision has not yet been signed), and the appeal/objection periods are part of the NEPA process, no additional compensation or payment would be granted.

Q17: Will the timeframes be developed as part of the workplan?

A17: Yes, and as agreed to.

Appendix A Restoration Services

Q18: What are the marking guides required? Can Designation by Prescription (DxP) be used? Who decides what method gets used?

A18: Marking guides are developed from the silvicultural prescriptions. Depending upon the complexity of the prescription, leave trees may or may not be marked. The stewardship law allows DxP. The method for designating trees is determined by presale based upon the complexity of the prescription and desired end results.

Q19: What level can the third party say, the manual says this, but we want to do something else?

A19: An offeror can propose this in an alternate proposal.

Q20: Do we have to follow (FS) manual direction for new ways to achieve all the end results? Do excess work activities need to follow the guidelines for Stewardship?

A20: Please identify in writing what the alternate proposal would look like and how it would meet the Forest

Service requirements. All work items for a stewardship contract must meet forest plan land management goals and objectives. All implementation activities need to follow NEPA decision.

Appendix B- Product removal Specifications

Q21: Who will decide whether a task order is scaled or tree measurement?

A21: It has been pre-determined that ‘Ton’ will be the unit of measure used in all task orders to determine the quantity of commercial timber removed to achieve desired end results. Weighing is the scaling activity accomplished post award after felling, and as such, all task orders will be scaled. Appendix B – tree measurement will be removed from the solicitation.

Afternoon Site Visit:

Q1: What if the “No Action Alternative was chosen?”

A1: It is really up to the contractor to make sure the NEPA document that is prepared identifies a defendable and implementable alternative.

Q2: What does the NEPA normally cost?

A2: The cost varies dependent on complexity and size of project area and proposals. NEPA costs anywhere from $5,000 for some CEs to over $1,000,000 for larger projects. There is no way to put a good cost on this item. Objections, appeals, FOIAs, litigation can add to NEPA costs.

Q3: How big is the project area?

A3: approximately 54,000 gross acres.

Q4: Has a concept of NEPA services been tried before?

A4: This particular stewardship/NEPA tool has not been tried before, however special use permits allow NEPA to be done by a third party contractor on behalf of the permit holder also Federal Highways contracts out a lot of their NEPA services.

Q5: What types of Threatened and Endangered species are present in the project area?

A5: All current known information should be provided as Government furnished items/ information.

Q6: What is the anticipated time frame between the completed draft NEPA document prepared by the contractor and the Forest’s Decision Document?

A6: Within the 10-year time frame, but it will be in the contractor’s best interest to complete the NEPA document in a timely manner. See Appendix A, 6.A.

It’s within the Contractor’s and Forest Service’s best interest to move the entire project forward in a timely manner.

Q7: How will the successful contractor benefit from this type of contract?

A7: The successful contractor will have the exclusive opportunity to harvest forest products on a non-competitive basis at appraised rates as well as any resultant service work that is to be completed as follow up restoration treatments.

Q8: How will the follow up restoration treatments be identified?

A8: The contractor and the Government will negotiate the anticipated needs based on the NEPA decision and desired end results for the treatment areas.

Q9: What happens if the NEPA is held up in the courts and no implementation happens in the 10 year process?

A9: There is an element of risk. The collaborative process helps discover concerns and issues that can be addressed in the early stages of project design. The Contracting Officer would assess the need for modifications if delays in project implementation occur due to NEPA litigation. Stewardship authority limits the contract period to ten years.

Q10: Who identifies the purpose and need for the NEPA document?

A10: Contractor is to develop the purpose and need (Appendix A requirement) and it is to be approved by the government.

Q11: With all the current turnover in Agency personnel how will the government assure that the right specialist will be available over the life of the project?

A11: The government has requisitioned the use of a group of government employees named TEAMS that have a full staff of qualified specialists to assist in the requirements of the contract.

Q12: Can the contractor do Implementation work with regards to on the ground treatment unit identification?

A12: Yes, the stewardship law allows for these types of activities to be performed by the contractor.

Q13: How were the quantities for potential treatment activities in the schedule developed?

A13: All the quantities in the schedule of items are estimates only and the actual task orders will define the actual needed treatments. The schedule of items and quantities will be used for price reasonableness for evaluation at time of offer and are not binding at award.

Q14: Who will set the appraised timber values on future task orders that have commercial product removal?

A14: The Forest will perform the appraisals and will also conduct check cruises for accurate volume determinations of included products to be removed.

Q15: Will these future task orders have escalation and are they going to be scaled or lump sum sales?

A15: All of the future task orders are anticipated to follow normal weight scaling procedures. Additionally, all

IRSC type contracts do not have escalation associated with them.

Q16: What types of tree diseases are present within the contract area?

A16: The primary tree diseases are: Annosus, Amarillia and Dwarf Mistletoe

Q17: What was the original tree species composition in this stand before treatments occurred?

A17: All tree species as currently present on the project area.

I. Appendix B – tree measurement is no longer required and has been deleted from the solicitation.